Chapter 132: 2.9 Paradise (3)
"Hey Nana Fena! You were right, they definitely followed me," Xander said while giving her a hug.
"They love you very much and I’m glad they’re keeping an eye on you. Ok, so today we’re going to practice channeling your time ability. Yours is much different than your dada’s. How do you think it works?"
Xander stood deep in thought as Athena waited patiently. She knew this wasn’t easy for a 2 year old, let alone an adult god.
"I think my time ability can rapidly speed up time, reverse time, or affect the time of one person or a group of people if I’m able to control it properly." Xander said confidently.
"Why do you think you can reverse time? You’ve shown no progress and every time you’ve tried, it’s only sped time up. Fortunately, I’m able to ensure it doesn’t spiral out of control, although up here, it doesn’t matter much. We’re all here for eternity anyway," Athena said with her usual polite, calm tone.
"I know I can do it!" Xander whined. "The day my dada snapped and his soul turned dark purple, I felt it. I just couldn’t figure out how to do it. Would it be bad if I could turn time backwards?"
"Magical abilities do not make gods or people good or evil, Xander. How gods or people use them makes them good or evil. You also have to consider someone’s intentions, their beliefs and their personality. Take your mother for example. She was a human who could control vampires’ temperaments. If she wanted, she could make them do really evil things. Instead, she used it to help them and helped baby Iris live. Do you understand?"
"Sort of. Helen and Eris use evil spells all the time, though. They don’t have any magic that’s good?" Xander asked, still a bit confused.
"So you’re saying being able to make a portal, just like you can, makes them bad? Wouldn’t that make you bad?"
Xander frowned as he started understanding what Athena meant. "No, their portal magic isn’t what makes them bad. They’re bad because they create portals to take the titans to destroy the planets so they can steal their power."
"Excellent job Xander! Your magical ability is just a part of who you are. Your choices and decisions determine who you want to be and if you’re anything like your parents, I know you’ll continue growing into a wonderful god."
"Thanks Nana Fena. I understand. I want to use it for good, but I have to be able to do it first. I’m going to try!" Xander said confidently as Athena gave him a reassuring nod.
******
"Sora, what do we do? I don’t want to walk into a trap. Why else would they hide the portal like that?"
"You’re right. Maybe I could use Earth magic to get us back up to the entrance?"
Sora snapped his fingers and jumped up about 3 feet each time, landing softly on a 5 foot square made of stone. He jumped until he was finally near the portal, and reached his hand through it.
"I can reach through it, but it won’t let me through it. Let me try to get closer!"
He created two more squares and his entire body, aside from his feet, went through the portal.
"Brie, I just see an empty black space. It’s like it’s a false portal or something."
"Maybe it’s a one way portal! We’re going to have to walk through this place." Brie yelled as she shivered.
Sora released every stone except the one he was standing on. He created one ten feet below him, released the magic he was standing on, falling and landing gently on the larger stone. As he landed, he saw a horde of mutilated creatures swarming toward them.
"Brie, get up here!" He shouted as he quickly built her a ramp. Brie sprinted up the ramp and as she jumped to his larger floating stone, Sora destroyed the ramp and caught her in his arms.
"I don’t like this." Brie said while holding Sora tightly.
"Niether do I. What are those things? They look like mutated souls. They look tortured and mutilated into whatever the hell they are now." Sora whispered as hundreds of human sized deformities with pentagram pupils sprinted below their rock.
"We must bring the gods to master so master can feast," they repeated in unison. Sora casted fire magic, burning some of to ash. However, they simply reformed and kept chanting, "We must bring the gods to master so master can feast."
"Eye of Chronos!" Sora yelled. Nothing happened.
"Sora, what is going on and why would this be a place in Paradise?!" Brie said in horror. "How many souls have switched sides?!"
*****
Xander channeled his energy and thought about his day. He envisioned writing the first two sets of coded names in his notebook. That’s when he noticed his parent’s auras. Their lifeforces were dark gold so they were easy to spot.
"Xander unleashed: Constructs of time: The moment I realize my parents are behind me."
Paradise started fading in reverse while Xander watched. He noticed Athena’s look of approval so he continued to manipulate everyone aside from himself and Athena. Everything in Paradise began rapidly moving in the opposite direction. When Xander felt everything was in order, he allowed Athena and himself to experience the magic and he moved to the exact point he focused on.
Brie and Sora noticed a strange pulling sensation they fought against but couldn’t stop.
"Sora, I’m scared! Don’t let go of me!" Brie pleaded as clung tightly to her husband. "What’s going on now?!"
Sora held Brie tightly as they flew backwards through the portal, watched themselves walk backwards through the strange rock formations, saw Brie touching the rock with the eye and they could hear their conversation.
"We’re moving backwards though time! Is this Xander?!" Sora smiled, still clinging tightly to his wife.
Brie noticed they were quickly traveling down the dirt road they walked, just from the opposite direction.
"We always go left." they heard as they faded behind themselves in a blur. Eventually, they saw the valley, small lake, large lake. Suddenly, they stood still, watching Xander jot down two names in his notebook.
Xander turned, gave them a wink, and started walking toward Athena.
"Ok, he didn’t turn and wink at us the first time. We’re not going crazy. We definitely just went back in time, didn’t we?" Brie said as she hopped out of Sora’s arms.
"Thanks for holding onto me babe, you’re always so sweet."
"You’re welcome sweetheart." Sora smiled and turned to hug his wife. "Well, hopefully that’s not something he uses frequently. Let’s go get an explanation!"
They followed Xander, who repeated the same actions, until they saw things they didn’t see the first time when they teleported to the lake.
"Why are we able to choose a different path? Shouldn’t we follow the exact same path like everyone else?" Brie asked Sora.
"Maybe we’re the only ones aware it happened. Perhaps even the gods don’t know they traveled back in time?"
"I hope so. I’m just glad we got out of that creepy realm. What was that all about?!"
"I think we found the entrance to the realm of the Fallen" Sora said with a frown. "Did Xander know we were there or was this simply luck he successfully cast a time reversal spell for the first time?"
Xander stood with Athena and they both smiled.
"You did a great job Xander. I’m very proud of you."
"Mama and Dada are coming. I wonder what they were doing!"
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